Video delivery of oilfield data

ABSTRACT

A data delivering system comprises a video server receiving and processing oilfield data into a video delivery, and a network delivering the video delivery from the video server to at least one client device, where the video delivery including a plurality of sections.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to data processing. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a method and system forvideo delivery of oilfield data from a video server to client.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 schematically shows a diagram of traditional oilfield datatransmission from oilfield site to the user. Scenario 1 shows physicaldelivery in which the oilfield data is directly delivered via a physicalmedia to users. The physical media can be CD, DVD, hard-disk, memorystick or flash card, etc. All the digital data including rawmeasurement, graphic files and additional format support information arepackaged together and recorded on a media and physically delivered tothe users. The users will then load the media on its computer to accessthe digital data. However, scenario 1 does not provide real timeoilfield data transmission. In addition, the huge size of the data filescould increase the cost on hard copy distribution, and generation ofphysical media takes extra time and money. Further, scenario 1 incurscost of delivery, and introduces additional security and confidentialityrisks.

Scenario 2 shows real time oilfield data transmission via internet. Theoilfield data could be uploaded to internet, transmitted via internet,and downloaded by the users. However, if the network bandwidth is notbroad enough, scenario 2 cannot allow transmitting large size packages.In addition, scenarios 1 and 2 require extra tools to visualize andanalyze those data files, and most of those tools do not allow the usersto either interact with the data or dynamically analyze the data.

Scenario 3 allows the user to transmit the data as a stream in real-timeand further interpret the stream on the user's station in real-time.However, similar to scenario 2, if the network bandwidth is not broadenough, scenario 3 cannot allow transmitting large size packages.

In addition, there are three approaches today to view media (such asvideo, audio, animation, documents, etc.) over the internet, namely,downloading, streaming and a hybrid of both.

To view media via downloading, the user has to wait that the entire fileis published, transmitted and saved on its computer before being played.Such approach does not satisfy requirement of real-time informationaccess, especially for large files. Streaming can be achieved byembedding special HTML codes into the web page link to the file.Delivery files this way is known as HTTP delivery or HTTP streaming.

The streaming approach works differently and allows the user to accessthe information and watch it as soon as it begins to be transmitted(downloaded). The streaming approach allows the user a rapid access tothe information and can fulfill real-time information delivery in thesame way as web-cast or net-cast.

The progressive downloading is a hybrid of the previous 2 methods. Thefile is downloaded as described in the first method, and can be playedas soon as the file is created on the target machine. The drawback isthat no “live” real-time transmission can be achieved in this way.

In the field of oilfield data service, as the data are acquired versustime or depth at different index and different acquisition modes (e.g.different frequencies, azimuth, etc.), the user needs to be able tovisualize information from these modes together or independently. Inclassical desktop application, multiple windows or presentation might beopen at the same time focusing on different data received. However, thiswould not cope with several types of oilfield data transmission whereinformation of different types are acquired in parallel but cannot bedisplayed together without overwhelming the user's display.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current invention provides methods and systems for video delivery ofoilfield data from a video server to client. The data delivering systemcomprises a video server receiving and processing oilfield data into avideo delivery, and a network delivering the video delivery from thevideo server to at least one client device, where the video deliveryincluding a plurality of sections. The method for oilfield data deliverycomprises receiving and processing oilfield data into a video delivery,and delivering the video delivery to at least one client device via anetwork, where the video delivery including a plurality of sections.

Embodiments of the method may further include receiving a selectionsignal from the at least one client device and customizing contents ofthe plurality of sections in response to the selection signal.Embodiments of the method may further include receiving a request signalfrom the at least one client device, and transmitting requested ones ofthe plurality of sections to the at least one client device in responseto the request signal.

The current invention further provides a video delivery generationapparatus for generating a video delivery from oilfield data. The videodelivery generation apparatus comprises an image generator thatdecomposes the oilfield data into different groups based on differentacquisition modes and generates a plurality of frames from the differentgroups of oilfield data; a frame composer that receives the frames fromthe image generator and composes the frames into continuous frames as avideo section; and a video composer that receives a plurality of videosections from the frame composer and organizes the video sections intothe video delivery in accordance with a video structure template.

The current invention further provides a method of creating a videodelivery from oilfield data on the GUI in a computer system having agraphical user interface (GUI) and a selection device. The methodcomprises displaying a first area, second area, and third area on theGUI; retrieving a set of oilfield data; displaying various framesderived from the set of oilfield data on the first area; receiving inputsignals from the selection device operating on the second area; anddisplaying a plurality of generated video sections on the third area inresponse to the input signals, where the plurality of generated videosections forming the video delivery.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentto those skilled in the art upon reference to the detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the provided figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not intendedto be limited by the figures of the accompanying drawings in which likereferences indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 schematically shows a diagram of traditional oilfield measurementdata transmission paths;

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of an oilfield data delivering systemaccording to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic flow chart of the operation of theoilfield data delivering system according to the embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic flow chart showing the operation in userselection mode of the oilfield data delivering system according toanother embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of the video server according to theembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of the video delivery generation unitaccording to the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of the operation of the video deliverygeneration unit according to the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates the data structure (movie sequence) of the videodelivery according to the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates another schematic diagram of structure (moviesequence) of the video delivery according to the embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 10 shows a hierarchy tree of schema of the video structure templateof the video delivery according to the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 shows another hierarchy tree of schema of the video sectionaccording to the embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 shows another hierarchy tree of schema of the video itemaccording to the embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 13 illustrates a Graphical User Interface for controlling the videoserver to create the video delivery according to the embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods ofaccomplishing the same may be understood more readily by reference tothe following detailed description of exemplary embodiments and theaccompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodiedin many different forms and should not be construed as being limited tothe embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are providedso that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fullyconvey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art, and thepresent invention will only be defined by the appended claims. Likereference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

In one embodiment of the invention, the term “oilfield data” is livedata of oilfield measurements acquired from a rig site, which aredifferent types of data acquired in parallel along with the aiguilledevice going into the earth versus time or depth at different index andat different acquisition modes (e.g. different frequencies, azimuthsetc.). The oilfield data is for example various physical feature data,such as pressure, temperature, electrical resistance of the earth, etc.,and the user needs to be able to visualize these various data togetheror independently on a Graphical User Interface, so as to analyze thesedata.

The term “index” in this specification indicates a measurement of thedepth, time, or acquisition time where or when the aiguille device goesinto the earth, which can be represented by a unit of foot, or secondetc. respectively.

The term “sections” in this specification can also be referred to as“channels”, which constitute a video delivery and each sectioncorresponds to one or multiple modes. The user is able to navigate fromone section to another. This corresponds to the capability of watchingdifferent channels on TV. The spectator can change channel, or encrust achannel in another one.

Hereinafter, the system and method according to exemplary embodiments ofthe invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of an oilfield data delivering systemaccording to an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2, theoilfield data delivering system 100 according to the embodiment of theinvention comprises: an acquisition source (oilfield data acquisitionsite) 102, a video server 104, a network 106, and a client device 108.In addition, the system 100 can further comprise a re-composer 112.Here, the video server 104 is either a general purpose computer which isloaded with a computer program that can realize the functions of theinvention, or an application specific computer which is provided with acircuit unit that can realize the functions of the invention. In theinvention, there may be a plurality of the video server 104, which isnot limited to only one. The video server 104 will be described indetail later. The client device 108 is any type of computer, such as adesk-top computer, a lap-top computer, or a personal digital assistant,which can run various applications thereon. In the invention, there maybe a plurality of the client device 108, which is not limited to onlyone. The network 106 may be, for example, the Internet, but also couldbe an intranet, a local area network, a wide area network,point-to-point links, or other networks, including a satellite network,a terrestrial network, etc. It is sufficient for the network 106 tosupport a single way communication in the oilfield data deliveringsystem 100 according to the embodiment of the invention. However, thenetwork 106 might further support two-way communications, i.e. the videoserver 104 can either send various data to the client device 108 overthe network 106, or receive the data sent from the client device 108thereon. In addition, the network 106 has various transmission rates,for example, it can transmit data of several tens of megabits per secondas an ultrahigh-speed communication network, and has a transmission rateof 384 kilobits per second as a mobile communication network.

Now, the operation of the oilfield data delivering system 100 will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 2. In one embodiment, the datadelivering system 100 delivers a video delivery representing oilfielddata to at least one client device 108, in which the video server 104receives the oilfield data acquired from the oilfield data acquisitionsite 102, and processes the acquired oilfield data into the videodelivery; and the network 106 delivers the video delivery from the videoserver 104 to the at least one client device 108. Here, the videodelivery may contain a plurality of sections. Specifically, all oilfielddata acquired at oilfield data acquisition site 102 is livelytransmitted in real-time to the local video server 104. The video server104 decomposes the received data and generates images based on thedecomposed data, in which the images are taken as frames representingviews of oilfield data acquired at different indices. Then, the videoserver 104 encodes and compresses the frames to generate several videosections which form a video delivery corresponding to differentacquisition modes, such as different frequencies, azimuths, etc. (thedetailed operation will be described later), and transmits the generatedvideo delivery to the client device 108. The video delivery includes oneor more video files (for example, an AVI file) or one or more videostreams (for example, a RMVB movie).

In case that the video server 104 transmits the video file such as a AVIfile to the client device 108, the client device 108 as a desktopapplication receives and decodes the video file, and plays it on itsscreen to visualize the decoded video to the user. In such case, theuser can analyze those oilfield data in a video form.

In case that the video server 104 transmits the video streams instead ofthe video file over the network 106, each of the video streams isreceived by the client device 108 on which the user will select whichstream to look at (like selecting a TV channel), and received by there-composer 112 provided between the network 106 and the client device108. Here, the re-composer 112 is to ensure a final “sequential” moviefile is generated at the end.

In the transmission and reception of the video stream, some framesconstituting the video stream may be received by the client device 108and the re-composer 112 in different sequence from that of the originalvideo stream. In such case, the re-composer 112 rearranges sequence ofthe video frames of the video delivery (video streams) as the originalsequence in accordance with a predetermined rule (e.g. the videostructure template which will be described later) or an instruction oridentification code received from the video server 104. In such case,the re-composer 112 can generate a final movie stream based on therearranged video frames.

In such manner, the client device 108 receives and decodes the videostreams from the re-composer 112, and visualizes and presents thedecoded video streams to the user.

In another embodiment, the client device 108 is integrated with afunctional module, such as a recomposing module performing the samefunction as the re-composer 112, which rearranges sequence of the framesas original one and displays the rearranged frames on its screen. Insuch case, the re-composer 112 is not necessary any more. In addition,in another embodiment, the video server 104 can publish informationabout the generated video delivery (video files and/or the videostreams) on the network 106, and the client device 108 can receive oraccess the information over the network 106. In such case, the user canmake a request through the client device 108 to receive the video filesand/or video streams.

The video server 104 may receive the request signal sent by the clientdevice 108, and transmit the video files and/or video streams requestedby the user to the client device 108 via the network 106. Also, thevideo server 104 may receive a request signal from the client device108, and transmit any requested section(s) of the plurality of sectionsof the video delivery to the client device 108 in response to therequest signal. In such connection, any section(s) of the plurality ofsections may be displayed on a screen by designation of the user. Then,the client device 108 may process the received contents as describedabove. In addition, the video server 104 may receive a selection signalfrom the client device, and customize contents of the plurality ofsections in response to the selection signal.

As for the network 106, the more video files or streams the userrequests, the more bandwidth is requested. Therefore, based on theselection made by the user, real-time performance of the delivery mightbe affected. However, since the compression has been made when the videofiles and streams are generated in the video server 104, the amount ofdata which needs to be transmitted over network 106 is much reduced byabout 80%, which makes the requirement for the bandwidth much improved.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart showing the operation of the oilfielddata delivering system 100. As shown in FIG. 3, in step S1, the localvideo server 104 receives in real-time all oilfield data acquired livelyat oilfield data acquisition source 102. In step S2, the video server104 decomposes the received data and generates images based on thedecomposed data, takes the image as frames representing views ofoilfield data acquired at different indices, encodes and compresses theframes to generate a video file (for example, a AVI file) or a videostream (for example, a RMVB movie) corresponding to differentacquisition modes. Hereinafter, the video file and video stream can bereferred as a video delivery in combination. In step S3, the videoserver 104 transmits the video delivery to the client device 108. Instep S4, the client device 108 receives and decodes the video file, andplays it on its screen to visualize the decoded video to the user. Inanother embodiment, the client device 108 rearranges sequences of framesof the video stream by the re-composer 112 or its recomposing module(not shown), then visualizes and presents the video stream to the user.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart showing the operation in a userselection mode of the oilfield data delivering system 100. As shown inFIG. 4, in step S10, all oilfield data acquired at oilfield dataacquisition source 102 is lively transmitted in real-time to the localvideo server 104. In step S12, the video server 104 decomposes thereceived data and generates images based on the decomposed data, takesthe image as frames representing views of oilfield data acquired atdifferent indices, encodes and compresses the frames to generate a videofile (for example, a AVI file) or a video stream (for example, a RMVBmovie) corresponding to different acquisition modes. In step S13, thevideo server 104 publishes information about the generated video filesand/or the generated video streams over the network 106, so that theclient device 108 can access the information and make a request forreceiving the video files, and/or video streams. In step S14, the videoserver 104 decides whether or not a request signal is received from theclient device 108. If the decision result in step S14 is “YES”, the flowgoes into step S15. In step S15, the video server 104 transmits thevideo file and/or video stream requested by the user to the clientdevice 108. Then, the flow goes into step S16. In step S16, the clientdevice 108 receives and decodes the video file and/or video stream, andvisualizes and presents the decoded video stream to the user. If theresult of decision in step S14 is “NO”, the flow stops doing action andkeeps waiting.

Next, the video server 104 shown in FIG. 2 will be described in greaterdetail with reference to FIGS. 5. FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram ofthe video server 104. As shown in FIG. 5, the video server 104 includesa central processing unit 10, which is abbreviated as CPU 10, a readonly memory 11, which is abbreviated as ROM 11, a random access memory12, which is abbreviated as RAM 12, a communication interface 15, a userinterface (UI) 16, a video delivery generation unit 18, and a shared bussystem 10B. The central processing unit 10 and other system components11, 12, 15, 16, 18 are connected to the shared bus system 10B, andaddress codes, control codes, instruction codes, and data codes aretransferred between the central processing unit 10 and other systemcomponents 11, 12, 15, 16, 18 through the shared bus system 10B.

In one embodiment, the video server 104 typically includes at least someform of computer readable media. Computer readable media can be anyavailable media that can be accessed by the video server 104 and theclient device 108. By way of example, and not limitation, computerreadable media may comprise computer storage media and communicationmedia. Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile,removable and non-removable media implemented in any method ortechnology for storage of information such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computerstorage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flashmemory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD)or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich can be used to store the desired information and which canaccessed by the video server 106 and the client device 108. Computerstorage media can be operatively coupled to the shared bus system 10B.Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includesany information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Communication media canbe operatively coupled to the network 106. Combinations of the any ofthe above should be included within the scope of computer readablemedia. In the embodiment of the invention, the video delivery generatedin the video server 106 can be stored on and/or distributed(transmitted) over the computer readable media.

The communication interface 15 is used for transmitting and/or receivingvarious codes, such as identification codes, address codes, controlcodes, instruction codes, and data codes, to/from the client device 108via the network 106. In one embodiment, the communication interface 15is used for receiving oilfield data from the oilfield data acquisitionsource 102 and the request for the video delivery from the client device108, and transmitting the video delivery to client device 108 inresponse to the request. The video delivery generation unit 18 is usedfor generating video deliveries from the oilfield data, which will bedelivered to the client device 108. The central processing unit 10 isthe origin of the data processing capability, and accomplishes varioustasks through execution of programmed instruction codes. Theinstructions codes form a computer program, and are stored in the readonly memory 11 together with the identification code and other datacodes. The random access memory 12 offers a working area to the centralprocessing unit 10, and temporarily stores data codes, control codes andso forth.

The user interface 16 includes an input unit (not shown), such as akeyboard, mouse, touch panel screen, etc, which can receive controlcodes, instruction codes, and various data codes from the user and sendthese codes to the other components. The user interface 16 furtherincludes an output unit (not shown), such as a display for presentingpictures and/or video to the user, and a loudspeaker for outputtingaudio effects to the user. The display is one of LCD (liquid crystaldisplay), CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or other kinds of display devices. Inaddition, the video server 104 may include an encoder and/or decoder(not shown), which performs encoding and/or decoding operations on thespecific data. The encoder and/or decoder (not shown) can also beintegrated into the video delivery generation unit 18, or can berealized by running software in the CPU 10 to perform the encodingand/or decoding functions on the specific data. In general, the encoderand/or decoder are the common ones used by those skilled in the art, soit will not be described in this specification for the purpose ofsimplification.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of the video delivery generation unit18. As shown in FIG. 6, the video delivery generation unit 18 includesan image generator 202, a frame composer 204, a video composer 206, anda delivery mixer 208. Further, the video delivery generation unit 18includes a data source 210, an image layout template 212, a videostructure template 214, an audio source 216, and a video delivery base218. Specifically, the data source 210 is used for temporarily storingoilfield data lively acquired at the oilfield data acquisition site 102.The image layout template 212 is used for deciding contents and layoutof the images generated from the oilfield data. The video structuretemplate 214 is used for deciding how to organize video sections intothe video delivery. The audio source 216 is used for storing audio filewhich will be added into the delivery. The video delivery base 218 isused for storing created video deliveries.

The image generator 202 retrieves oilfield data from a data source 210,or receives in real time oilfield data lively acquired from the oilfielddata acquisition source 102, and generates separated images based on theinternal organization of the oilfield data in accordance with an imagelayout template 212, which decides the contents and layout of theimages. Here, the oilfield data may be real-time data acquired livelyfrom the acquisition source 102, and may be data temporarily storedlinearly with time or distance indices in the data source 210.Specifically, the image generator 202 decomposes the received dataacquired at each index of depth, such as pressure data, temperaturedata, electrical resistance data, etc. respectively into differentgroups according to different acquisition modes, for example, differentfrequencies, azimuth etc.

For example, there are some oilfield data acquired at the index of 400feet, which are pressure data a′, b′ and c′, temperature data a″, b″,and c″. In the above oilfield data, it is assumed that the pressure dataa′ and b′ and the temperature data a″ and b″ are acquired at a frequencyof 1000 Hz and at a azimuth of 30°, and the pressure data c′ and thetemperature data c″ are acquired at a frequency of 11000 Hz and at aazimuth of 40°, then the above oilfield data is decomposed into fourgroups, in which the first group includes the pressure data a′ and b′,the second group includes the temperature data a″ and b″, whichcorrespond to the frequency of 1000 Hz and the azimuth of 30°, the thirdgroup includes the pressure data c′ and the fourth group includes thetemperature data c″, which correspond to the frequency of 1100 Hz andthe azimuth of 40°. Here, the method of decomposing the oilfield data isonly for the purpose of explanation, which does not set any limit to thetechnical scope of the invention, and those skilled in the art maydecompose the oilfield data in any form based on the actualrequirements.

Then, the image generator 202 generates an image (each image is regardedas one video frame) from each group of oilfield data in accordance withthe contents and layout decided by the image layout template 212. Theimages represent views of all oilfield data acquired at a certain indexof depth or time. That is, each video frame represents a view of theoilfield data at each index. In such a way, the image generator 202 cangenerate a plurality of images which represent views of characteristics,such as temperature and pressure, of all oilfield data acquired at acertain index of depth, or time. The generated images can correspond toat least one of the above modes, such as frequency and/or azimuth, andthese generated images are separated from one another. In addition, forthe purpose of illustration, the image can be a curve line or graphicssimulated based on the group of the oilfield data by for example amethod of least square, which visually indicates a view of certainphysical characteristic of the oilfield data. Here, the method offorming an image based on the oilfield data is only for the purpose ofexplanation, which does not set any limit to the technical scope of theinvention, and those skilled in the art may create the image based onthe oilfield data in any other method according to the actualrequirements.

The frame composer 204 receives the separated images from imagegenerator 202, and composes the separated images corresponding to one ofthe above modes, such as frequency and/or azimuth, into continuous videoframes as a video section in accordance with a predetermined rule. Insuch a manner, the frame composer 204 can generate a plurality of videosections, which correspond to different acquisition modes of theoilfield data. The acquisition modes include at least one of frequenciesand azimuths.

The embodiment of the present invention adopts a video structuretemplate 214 which will be described in detail hereafter, and the videostructure template 214 can stipulate how to organize the video framesinto the video section. That is, the frame composer 204 can compose thevideo frames into video sections in accordance with the video structuretemplate 214. In the embodiment of the invention, in the frame composer204, the video section, i.e. continuous frames, is generated from thereceived video frames as follows. As described above, the originaloilfield data is linearly stored with indices of depth or time in thedata source 210, and each frame represents a view of the oilfield dataat each index. Therefore, the embodiment is designed in such a mannerthat a start index and a stop index are respectively mapped to abeginning frame and ending frame, which are respectively located in thebeginning position and ending position of stream timeline of the videosection. Then, an interval which decides the index changing step betweentwo adjacent frames is set based on the actual requirement, and otherindices between the start index and stop index can be automaticallymapped onto those video frames between the beginning frame and endingframe. In such case, the video section is generated, which includes aset of continuous frames index by index.

For example, in the range of indices of depth 300-400, the framecomposer 204 generates a section which includes 101 video framesF1-F101, in which an interval between two adjacent video frames is setto 1, the beginning video frame F1 corresponds to the start index ofdepth 300, and the ending video frame F101 corresponds to the stop indexof depth 400. In the above example, a section which includes 51 videoframes F1-F51 can also be generated, in which an interval between twoadjacent video frames is set to 2, the beginning video frame F1corresponds to the start index of depth 300, and the ending video frameF51 corresponds to the stop index of depth 400. In addition, anothersection which includes 11 video frames F1-F11 can be generated, in whichan interval between two adjacent video frames is set to 1, the beginningvideo frame F1 corresponds to the start index of depth 320, and theending video frame F11 corresponds to the stop index of depth 329. Thatis, the frame composer 206 can generate any video section includingcontinuous frames index by index in the range of indices of 300-400according to the requirements. Thus, a plurality of video sections canbe formed corresponding to different acquisition modes, such asdifferent frequencies, azimuths, etc.

In such a manner, the frame composer 204 can generate various videosections each of which includes a plurality of continuous video frameswhich correspond to each index of depth or time. Here, the method offorming the video section based on the video frames is only for thepurpose of explanation, which does not set any limit to the technicalscope of the invention, and those skilled in the art may create thevideo section based on the video frames in any other method according tothe actual requirements.

The video composer 206 receives those different video sections from theframe composer 204, and organizes these video sections into a videodelivery, such as a video file or a video stream. The video composer 206composes the video sections into the video file or the video stream inaccordance with the video structure template 214. In this embodiment,how to organize these sections into the video file or video stream isdecided in accordance with the video structure template 214.

The delivery mixer 208 mixes the video files or video streams receivedfrom the video composer 206 and audio data received from an audio source216, and generates a final video delivery. That is, the delivery mixer208 adds audio data into the video delivery. The delivery mixer 208 alsodoes some compression work to make the size of the final video deliverysmaller than that of the output of the video composer 206. The audiosource 216 in the invention is optional since the video delivery can bereleased without any audio output. The video delivery output from thedelivery mixer 208 can include video files and/or video streams, whichis stored in the video delivery base 218 of storage provided in thevideo server 104, or transmitted to the client device 108 via thenetwork 106. Of course, the generated video delivery can also be writtenonto a physical media or uploaded to an online data center, and the useget the video delivery from the distributed media or by downloading fromthe online data center.

In the invention, as described before, the video server 104 can alsocomprise an encoder (not shown), which can also be integrated into anyone of the image generator 202, frame composer 204, video composer 206,and delivery mixer 208 respectively. The encoder is used to perform acompression-coding method to encode the video frames into the video fileand/or the video stream.

In compression-coding methods, a basic principle of data compressionlies in removing data redundancy. Data redundancy includes: (i) spatialredundancy in which the same color or object is repeated in an image;(ii) temporal redundancy in which there is little change betweenadjacent frames in a moving image or the same sound is repeated inaudio; or (iii) mental visual redundancy taking into account humaneyesight and perception dull to high frequency. Data can be compressedby removing such data redundancy.

Compression-coding methods can be classified into loss/losslesscompression according to whether source data is lost,intraframe/interframe compression according to whether individual framesare compressed independently, and symmetric/asymmetric compressionaccording to whether time required for compression is the same as timerequired for recovery. In addition, data compression includes real-timecompression when a compression/recovery time delay does not exceed 50ms, and scalable compression when frames have different resolutions. Forexample, lossless compression is usually used for text, the losscompression is usually used for multimedia data, intraframe compressionis usually used to remove spatial redundancy, and interframe compressionis usually used to remove temporal redundancy. In addition, in order tosupport transmission media having various speeds or to transmitmultimedia at a data rate suitable to a transmission environment, datacoding methods having scalability are adopted, such as wavelet videocoding and sub-band video coding. Scalability indicates the ability topartially decode a single compressed bit-stream, that is, the ability toperform a variety of types of video reproduction. Thereby, the abovecompression-coding technology can be used in the invention, and providethe user with video files or video streams in real time. However, theabove video compression-coding methods are only for the purpose ofexplanation, which do not set any limit to the technical scope of theinvention, and those skilled in the art may use any other methodsaccording to the actual requirements.

In the invention, the data source 210, the image layout template 212,video structure template 214, and audio source 216, and video deliverybase 218 can be stored in the ROM 10, and they can also be stored in aseparate storage (not shown) of the video server 104. In addition, aplurality of the image layout templates 212 can be stored in the storageso as to be selected by the user. A plurality of the video structuretemplates 214 can be stored in the storage so as to be selected by theuser. The user also can make a selection from a plurality of the audiosources stored in the storage according to his/her preference.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of the operation of the video deliverygeneration unit according to the embodiment of the invention. As shownin FIG. 7, in step S31, the image generator 202 receives oilfield datafrom the data source 210 or the acquisition site 102, and generatesseparated images based on the internal organization of the oilfield datain accordance with the image layout template 212. In step S32, the framecomposer 204 receives the separated images as video frames from imagegenerator 202, and composes the video frames into continuous frames as avideo section in accordance with a predetermined rule. In step S33, thevideo composer 206 receives several video sections from the framecomposer 204, and organizes these video sections into a video delivery(video file or a video stream) in accordance with the video structuretemplate 214. In step S34, the delivery mixer 208 mixes the video filesor video streams received from the video composer 206 and audio datareceived from the audio source 216, and generates a final videodelivery, then stores the final video delivery in the video deliverybase 218 of the storage provided in the video server 104, or outputs itto the client device 108 via the network 106.

In one embodiment of the invention, the video server 104 receives theselection signal or control signal from the client device 108. The usercan operate the video server 104 by the client device 108 to control theimage generator 202, frame composer 204 and/or video composer 206, so asto customize any video delivery (video file or video stream) composed ofcontinuous frames according to the user's requirements. In anotherembodiment of the invention, as described in the above, the video filesor the video streams are sent to the client device 108. In case that thevideo files are sent to the client device 108, they can be directlyplayed by a viewer unit (not shown) which includes a decoder (not shown)installed in the client device 108. In case that the video streams aresent to the client device 108, the user could analyze those oilfielddata in a form of video in real-time by using the client device 108which is integrated with a functional module performing the samefunction as the re-composer 112, or by selecting the video streams whichare recomposed through the re-composer 112 provided outside of theclient device 108.

Next, the structure of video delivery will be described in detail withreference to the drawings. FIG. 8 illustrates the structure (moviesequence) of the video delivery 300 output from the delivery mixer 208and generated in the video composer 206, in which the video delivery 300is defined by the video structure template 214. In this embodiment, thevideo structure template 214 is defined in such a manner that it decideshow to organize the various video sections into a video file or a videostream (the video delivery). The video structure template 214 also candecide how to compose the various video frames into continuous frames soas to form a video section. Therefore, the video delivery 300 has thesame data structure as that of the video structure template 214.

The basic element of the video delivery (movie) construction is asection, and each video delivery has several sections. In the invention,the video delivery may be composed of at least one first section, atleast one second section, and at least one third section. The firstsection contains video data representing identification information, thesecond section contains video data representing the oilfield data, andthe third section contains video data representing the end of the videodelivery. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the video delivery 300comprises four mandatory sections, such as a Welcome 301, Header 303,Disclaimer 305 which can be regarded as the above first section and Tail311 which can be regarded as the third section, as well as otherservice-specific sections (User section 307, User section 309, etc.),which can be regarded as the second section. For example, the Welcome301 contains video data showing a title and logo of the video delivery300, the Header 303 contains video data showing the basic informationabout the oilfield data source, the Disclaimer 305 contains video datagiving a copyright announcement, and the contents of sections 301, 303and 305 can be referred to as identification information in oneembodiment. Tail 311 contains video data indicating the end of the videodelivery 300. The User sections 307 and 309 contain video datarepresenting oilfield data itself, i.e. they give the video clips whichcontain actual things the users are interested in. All the abovesections and contents therein can be customized by modifying the videostructure template 214. The sections of Welcome 301, Header 303,Disclaimer 305 and Tail 311 do not set any limit to the technical scopeof the invention. In another embodiment of the invention, the videodelivery 300 can contain none of the above mandatory sections, orcontain only some of the above mandatory sections by modifying the videostructure template 214, which can also represent other differentinformation.

FIG. 9 illustrates another schematic diagram of structure (moviesequence) of the video delivery according to the embodiment of theinvention. As shown in FIG. 9, one section can further comprise severalitems. In each section, one or several items are displayed concurrentlyon different space of the screen. For example, Section 3 furthercomprises three Items, such as 2D, Waveform, and Crossplot, and Section4 further comprises two Items, such as 2D-2 and Redial Plot. Indifferent Items, different text contents or video clips or video inreal-time can be shown.

In this embodiment, the user section 307 (or 309) is created from one ormore continuous video frames which are generated from the oilfield datain the image generator 202 in accordance with the image layout template212. The image layout template 212 stipulates the contents and layout ofeach of the video frames. The user section 307 (or 309) is created inthe frame composer 204 in accordance with the video structure template214. Each of the Items is also composed of one or more video frames inaccordance with stipulations of the video structure template 214.

Hereinafter, an example will be given for explaining the structure ofthe video delivery. In the invention, a video file or video streamcomprises a plurality of encoded sequential video frames, which forexample include 100 video frames f1-f100. Here, the first frame f1 isspecified as Section 1, which shows a company logo. Four video framesincluding the second frame f2 through the fifth frame f5 are specifiedas Section 2, in which the beginning frame is f2 mapped with start indexof 2, and the ending frame is f5 mapped with stop index of 5, and Second2 shows some information about the oilfield data, such as informationabout the well.

The subsequent twenty video frames including frame f6 through frame f25are specified as Section 3, in which the beginning frame is f6 mappedwith start index of 6, and the ending frame is f25 mapped with stopindex of 25. We notice that Section 3 further includes three Items, andthe three Items can be formed by the video frames f6-f25 as follows. TheItem 1 is formed by f6-f16, Item 2 is formed by f17-f20, and Item 3 isformed by f21-f25, that is, Items 1-3 are formed respectively by videoframes f6-f25 in sequence. Also, Items 1-3 can be formed by some of thevideo frames f6-f25 in any order instead of in sequence. In addition,each of the video frames f6-f25 can be divided into three parts based ona predetermined rule, and the first part of each of the video framesf6-f25 forms Item 1, the second part of each of the video frames f6-f25forms Item 2, and the third part of each of the video frames f6-f25 formItem 3. Section 4 is formed from the video frames in the same manner asmentioned above, the detailed description will be omitted.

In such a manner, a video file or video stream includes several videosections, and are formed by a plurality of encoded sequential videoframes. In case the client device 108 receives the video file or videostream, the viewer unit (not shown) thereon plays the video file orvideo stream in order of the video frames from the first frame f1 tosubsequent video frames. In the meantime, if the user would like to playa certain section, such as Section 3, he/she specifies the Section 3 bya pointing device such as a mouse as input device, or input a signalcorresponding to the start index of 6 of the Section 3 by a key board asinput device, the video file or video stream will be played startingfrom the Section 3.

Next, there will be described the schema of the video structure templateof the video delivery according to the embodiment of the invention. Avideo structure template needs to be defined before the movie generationstrategy, and the video structure template is an XML file which definesthe structure, layout and contents of the movie (video file or videostream).

FIGS. 10-12 schematically show a hierarchy tree of the schema of thevideo structure template of the video delivery. In the template schemaas shown in FIG. 10, the video delivery may include a plurality ofMovies (video), and each Movie is a root element of the template, andeach movie (Movie) comprises at least one of the following parameters: aName, Description, Resolution, Codec, Format, Fps,MoiveSectionCollection, etc. The Name describes the name of the Movie,and the Description is used for describing the schema or parameters ofthe video structure template. The Name and Description are optional.

The Resolution stipulates a horizontal resolution and verticalresolution of the image displayed on a screen unit. The Codec is usedfor stipulating the compression-coding methods of the video structuretemplate. The Format stipulates a format which the displayed image datashould comply with or a protocol which the transmitted data shouldcomply with. The Fps stipulates number of video frames per second to bedisplayed on the screen unit. The MoiveSectionCollection indicates thatthe movie includes a plurality of movie sections.

As shown in FIG. 11, each movie section (MovieSection) is displayed onthe screen unit during the stepping of the index range, and comprises atleast one of the following parameters: a SectionID which is theidentifier of the Section; an IndexDomain which indicates which domainthe index belong to, wherein the index can be in depth domain, timedomain or acquisition time domain (for real time); an IndexUnit whichindicates the unit of the index, such as foot, second, etc.; aStartIndex, a value of which indicates a start index for identifying thebeginning video frame of a video section; a StopIndex, a value of whichindicates a stop index for identifying the ending video frame of a videosection; an Interval which indicates a stepping length between indicesof the two adjacent video frames; a MovieItemCollection indicates thatthe movie section includes a plurality of movie items, and each movie(video) item has its own space on the screen during the playing-back ofthe movie (video) section, that is, along with the index changes, themovie item will change its display; and a ShowIndexIndicator whichstipulates an indicator showing the progress of stepping of the indices.

As shown in FIG. 12, a movie item (MovieItem) comprises at least one ofthe following parameters: an ID which is the identifier of theMovieItem; an IsExisting which indicates whether or not a movie item isexisting in the template, if IsExisting is indicated as “True”, theexisting movie item will be used to form a movie section, otherwise,each movie item will be created as per the template; an Assembly whichis used to create the UI; a Type which indicates the type of the UI; anInitializer which is a string and can be name, layout xml, etc.; ax_offset_percentile which indicates x offset on the screen to draw; ay_offset_percentile which indicates y offset on the screen to draw; awidth_percentile which indicates width on the screen to draw; and aheight_percentile which indicates height on the screen to draw. Theabove description is given on the schema of the video structure templateof the video delivery. However, the above description about the schemaof the video structure template is only for the purpose of explanation,which do not set any limit to the technical scope of the invention, andthose skilled in the art may use any other schema which can implementthe invention according to the actual requirements. The video structuretemplate of the invention can be pre-defined and provided to meet therequirements of most cases. In addition, the video structure template ofthe invention also can be provided for the user to make limitedmodification.

In the present embodiment, the user can communicate with the videoserver 104, i.e. the user can control the operation of the video server104 to create the video delivery (video file and/or video stream, ormovie) by inputting the control codes and/or instruction codes throughthe input unit of the user interface 16, and by means of a GUI(Graphical User Interface), such as display, of the user interface 16.Next, the description will be given on the operation for the user tocontrol the video server 104 via the user interface 16 with reference toFIG. 13.

FIG. 13 illustrates a GUI for creating video deliveries on the videoserver 104. As shown in the FIG. 13, a GUI 500 shown as a screenincludes a setting area 502, a displaying area 506, and an editing area508. In the setting area 502, there are provided General settings, suchas fields of a template name and Screen resolution, through which theuser can select either the image layout template 212 for the imagegenerator 202 or the video structure template 214 for the frame composer204 and video composer 206 and/or the delivery mixer 208, and furtherselect one from the above each kind of plural templates, and set asolution for the screen. The image generator 202 retrieves a set ofoilfield data which is stored linearly with time or distance indicesfrom the data source 210, generates the separated images as video framesfrom the retrieved oilfield data based on the selected image layouttemplate 212, and displays various video frames on the displaying area506.

There are shown the video sections (continuous frames) in the editingarea 508. The video sections are generated in the frame composer 204based on the video frames (separated images) output from the imagegenerator 202. In the setting area 502, there are also provided aninterval step field, a start index field, and a stop index field. Asdescribed above, we assume the oilfield data is stored linearly withtime or distance indices in the data source 210, and each framerepresents a view of the oilfield data at each index. In this case, inorder to create a video section, such as the video section 605, the usercan input a start index in the start index field, and input a stop indexin the stop index field. The start index and the stop index arerespectively mapped to two video frames as the beginning frame andending frame of the video section, which are respectively located in twodifferent positions in a video stream timeline. In this manner, thevideo section such as the user-defined section 605 is created. Then, inthe interval step field, the user inputs an interval step which decidesthe indices changing step between two adjacent frames.

For example, it is assumed that the start index corresponds to aposition deep into the earth 300 feet, and the stop index corresponds toa position deep into the earth 400 feet. If the user set the intervalstep of the indices as 1 foot, the video server 104 generates variousframes from the oilfield data acquired at the positions of 300, 301,302, 303, 304, . . . , 400 feet on a basis of index by indexrespectively. In such case, there will be generated the user-definedsection 605 including a total of 101 continuous frames, the first frameof which is marked with the start index of 300, and the last frame ofwhich is marked with the stop index of 400. If the user set the intervalstep of the indices as 2 feet, the video server 104 generates variousframes from the oilfield data acquired at the positions of 300, 302,304, 306, . . . , 400 feet on a basis of index by index respectively. Inthis case, there will be generated the user-defined section 605including a total of 51 continuous frames, the first frame of which ismarked with the start index of 300, and the last frame of which ismarked with the stop index of 400.

Thus, the video section including a set of continuous frames isgenerated. In a similar manner, a certain number of video sections arecreated which are shown in the editing area 508, and the detaileddescription is omitted.

In the setting area 502, there is also provided a Generate Movie button.When the Generate Movie button is clicked with a mouse, the videocomposer 206 automatically organizes these video sections into a videofile or a video stream in accordance with the video structure template214, and the user can check the generated video delivery on thedisplaying area 506. If the generated video delivery (video file orvideo stream) does not satisfy the requirements of the user, the usercan click a Cancel Movie button to cancel the generated video file orvideo stream.

In the invention, there is provided a playback mode, i.e. in the bottomof the displaying area 506, there are provided some buttons of Play,Stop, Fast Search, Fast Back, Next Section, and Last Section foroperating the displaying of the video delivery. It can be seen that inthe playback mode, the generated video file or video stream can becontrolled and played on the displaying area 506 of the screen, in whichany specified section can be displayed in any order.

Thus, the method of the invention for creating a video delivery fromoilfield data on the GUI comprising: displaying a first area (thedisplaying area 506), second area (the setting area 502), and third area(the editing area 508) on the GUI; retrieving a set of oilfield data,and displaying various frames derived from the set of oilfield data onthe first area; and receiving input signals from the selection device,such as the mouse, operating on the second area, and, in response to theinput signals, displaying each of generated video sections which formthe video delivery on the third area. The second area includes entriesof a template, interval, start index and stop index, and the inputsignals include the selection of the template, values indicative of theinterval, start index, and stop index. The second area further includesentries of determination and cancellation, and the input signals includethe determination and cancellation of the video delivery.

The above description has been given on the GUI and the method forcreating the video delivery on the GUI of the video server 104. In theinvention, the structure of the video server does not set any limit tothe technical scope of the invention, and the implementation of theinvention also can be realized by only software running in the CPU 10 ofthe video server 104, or by a combination of software running thereinand a specific circuit of the video server 104.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those of ordinary skilled in the art that various changes in form anddetails may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present invention as defined by the following claims.

1. A data delivering system comprising: a video server receiving andprocessing oilfield data into a video delivery, said video deliveryincluding a plurality of sections; and a network delivering said videodelivery from said video server to at least one client device.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein said video server receives a selection signalfrom the at least one client device, and customizes contents of theplurality of sections in response to the selection signal.
 3. The systemof claim 1, wherein said video server receives a request signal from theat least one client device, and transmits requested ones of theplurality of sections to the at least one client device in response tothe request signal.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein any one of theplurality of sections is uniquely displayed on a screen by designationof a user.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of sectionsinclude at least one first section containing video data representingidentification information, at least one second section containing videodata representing the oilfield data, and at least one third sectioncontaining video data representing the end of the video delivery.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sections correspond todifferent acquisition modes of the oilfield data, said acquisition modesincluding at least one of frequencies and azimuths.
 7. The system ofclaim 6, wherein said video server includes a video delivery generationmodule that decomposes the oilfield data into different groups based onthe different acquisition modes, generates frames from the differentgroups of oilfield data, composes the frames into a plurality ofcontinuous frames as the section, and organizes said plurality ofsections into the video delivery in accordance with a video structuretemplate, and an interface that communicates the video delivery on thenetwork.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one clientdevice further includes a recomposing module that rearranges sequence ofthe frames as original one and displays the rearranged frames on thescreen.
 9. The system of claim 7 further comprising a recomposingcomputer coupled between the network and the at least one client device,said recomposing computer receiving the video delivery from the videoserver, rearranging sequence of the frames of the video delivery asoriginal one, and sending the rearranged frames to the at least oneclient device.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein said oilfield data isacquired from a data acquisition site.
 11. A method for oilfield datadelivery comprising: receiving and processing oilfield data into a videodelivery, said video delivery including a plurality of sections; anddelivering said video delivery to at least one client device via anetwork.
 12. The method of claim 11 further comprising receiving aselection signal from the at least one client device and customizingcontents of the plurality of sections in response to the selectionsignal.
 13. The method of claim 11 further comprising receiving arequest signal from the at least one client device, and transmittingrequested ones of the plurality of sections to the at least one clientdevice in response to the request signal.
 14. The method of claim 11,wherein said plurality of sections include at least one first sectioncontaining video data representing identification information, at leastone second section containing video data representing the oilfield data,and at least one third section containing video data representing theend of the video delivery.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein theplurality of sections correspond to different acquisition modes of theoilfield data, said acquisition modes including at least one offrequencies and azimuths.
 16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:decomposing said oilfield data into different groups based on thedifferent acquisition modes; generating frames from the different groupsof oilfield data; composing the frames into a plurality of continuousframes as the section; and organizing said plurality of sections intosaid video delivery in accordance with a video structure template. 17.The method of claim 11, wherein said oilfield data is acquired from adata acquisition site.
 18. A video delivery generation apparatus forgenerating a video delivery from oilfield data, comprising: an imagegenerator that decomposes the oilfield data into different groups basedon different acquisition modes, and generates a plurality of frames fromthe different groups of oilfield data; a frame composer that receivesthe frames from the image generator and composes the frames intocontinuous frames as a video section; and a video composer that receivesa plurality of video sections from the frame composer and organizes thevideo sections into the video delivery in accordance with a videostructure template.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising aninterface that delivers said video delivery to outside of the apparatus.20. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising a delivery mixer thatadds audio data into said video delivery.
 21. The apparatus of claim 18further comprising: an input module that receives an input signal from auser; and a control module that controls operations of the apparatus inaccordance with the input signal from the input module.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 18, wherein the plurality of sections include atleast one first section containing video data representingidentification information, at least one second section containing videodata representing the oilfield data, and at least one third sectioncontaining video data representing the end of the video delivery. 23.The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the plurality of sections correspondto different acquisition modes of the oilfield data, said acquisitionmodes including at least one of frequencies and azimuths.
 24. Theapparatus of claim 18, wherein said oilfield data is acquired from adata acquisition site.
 25. A computer-implemented method of generating avideo delivery from oilfield data, comprising: a first step ofdecomposing the oilfield data into different groups based on differentacquisition modes; a second step of generating various frames from thedifferent groups of oilfield data; a third step of mapping a start indexand a stop index respectively onto a beginning frame and ending frame ofthe section, and setting an interval as an index changing step betweentwo adjacent frames, so as to compose the various frames into continuousframes as a video section; repeating the third step to generate aplurality of sections; and organizing said plurality of sections intothe video delivery in accordance with a video structure template.
 26. Ina computer system having a graphical user interface (GUI) and aselection device, a method of creating a video delivery from oilfielddata on the GUI, said method comprising: displaying a first area, secondarea, and third area on the GUI; retrieving a set of oilfield data;displaying various frames derived from the set of oilfield data on thefirst area; receiving input signals from the selection device operatingon the second area; and displaying a plurality of generated videosections on the third area in response to the input signals, saidplurality of generated video sections forming the video delivery. 27.The method of claim 26, wherein the second area includes entries of atemplate, an interval, a start index and a stop index, and the inputsignals include the selection of the template, values indicative of theinterval, start index, and stop index.
 28. The method of claim 27,wherein values of the start index and stop index are respectively mappedonto a beginning frame and ending frame of the video section, and thevalue of the interval sets an index changing step between two adjacentframes.
 29. The method of claim 26, wherein the second area includes anentry of determination, and the input signals include the determinationof the video delivery.
 30. The method of claim 26, wherein the secondarea includes an entry of cancellation, and the input signals includethe cancellation of the video delivery.
 31. The method of claim 26,wherein any video section selected by the selection device can bedisplayed on the first area in a playback mode
 32. The method of claim26, wherein said oilfield data is acquired from a data acquisition site.